


It's Nice to Have a Friend

by Signsofsam



Series: I Hate Accidents (Except When We Went From Friends To This) [6]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Because....reasons, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Family Feels, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Slice of Life, There's also a dog, but seriously it's all fluff, idek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signsofsam/pseuds/Signsofsam
Summary: There’s a dog in their kitchen.Buck is wiping it down with a towel, and it’s shivering, but....there’s a dog in their kitchen.Eddie should have stayed in bed.“Do I want to know what’s going on here?” he asks, looking from the dog to Buck to Chris, watching the shenanigans from a chair at the table, a broad, happy smile on his face. “Where...where did you acquire an animal? Did I hit my head yesterday instead of my shoulder?”
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: I Hate Accidents (Except When We Went From Friends To This) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584202
Comments: 10
Kudos: 465
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	It's Nice to Have a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know, y'all. I just...I don't know. This was supposed to be a 'Buck helps Abuela' fic, and....well, it's not. Please enjoy 1000+ words of the Buckley-Diaz's get a dog, because here we are.
> 
> Title is from _It's Nice to Have a Friend_ from Taylor Swift.

There’s a dog in their kitchen.

Buck is wiping it down with a towel, and it’s shivering, but....there’s a dog in their kitchen.

Eddie should have stayed in bed.

“Do I want to know what’s going on here?” he asks, looking from the dog to Buck to Chris, watching the shenanigans from a chair at the table, a broad, happy smile on his face. “Where...where did you acquire an animal? Did I hit my head yesterday instead of my shoulder?”

It’s why he was in bed late; he’d landed on his shoulder on their last call on shift, and had spent a few hours in the ER, making sure he hadn’t done anything other than bruise it. Buck had given him a kiss sometime earlier in the morning, murmured that he was going to get Chris from Abuela’s, and now there’s a skinny, wet dog in their kitchen, watching Eddie with weary eyes.

“She was in our trash, Daddy,” Chris supplies helpfully. “We couldn’t just leave her there.”

Buck has yet to say anything, but he’s watching Eddie just as wearily as the dog is, hands running the towel over it’s reddish fur. They had talked about a pet, because Buck loved animals just as much as he loved kids, and he’d agreed that it was a worry with Chris. But now, seeing him with the dog, Eddie knows they were in for another talk, and he sighs, heading for the coffee maker, rolling his sore shoulder.

“You okay?” Buck asks as Eddie’s pouring his coffee, and Eddie nods, leaning down to press a kiss into his hair, keeping a wide berth between him and the animal. “I was gonna call a vet, see if I could get her in-”

“Were you gonna talk to me about this before you unilaterally brought an animal into the house, or-?”

“I couldn’t just leave her outside. It’s pouring, and she’s so skinny.” Buck’s voice has a defiant edge to it, the same defiance in his bright blue eyes when he looks up at his husband. “And yes, I was gonna wake you up soon.”

The dog whimpers, apparently on edge with the tension in the kitchen, and Buck runs his hands through her fur, soothing her with a “it’s okay, girl. Eddie’s just a mean-looking teddy bear”. She’s cute; some sort of Golden Retriever mix, if Eddie has to guess. Her muzzle’s going grey, so she’s probably older, and she doesn’t have a collar on. Her ribs can be seen even through all her fur, and she gives Eddie the most pathetic look, and he knows-he _knows_ -that they won’t be getting rid of her, if only because Buck loves a good underdog, and Eddie absolutely loves Buck.

“Okay, so...vet first,” he finally says, reaching down to let the dog sniff his fingers, and he can’t help but grin when Chris cheers behind him, Buck standing to kiss him his thanks. Even the dog seems to love him in this moment.

\--//--//--

“You’re sure you’re okay if Chris and I go to the pet store?” 

Buck is obviously not sure about this arrangement, but the dog-Scarlet, they’ve decided, after one of Chris’ favorite Avengers-needs food, and a leash, and a collar, and a bed, and other dog things, and Eddie is sore and irritable and in no mood to go out in public. His sore shoulder has become his sore side, and the ibuprofen he’d taken has yet to take the edge off, so Buck had brought him home after the vet appointment, and now looks reluctant to leave.

Eddie sighs. “Evan, the dog and I will be fine for the hour you’re gone. I promise I won’t throw her back outside or anything,” he says, just a bit snappier than he’d meant, and Buck flinches, glancing between his husband and the dog, watching everything from the kitchen, apprehensive, hiding back when they both look at her. _Shit_ , Eddie thinks; he hadn’t meant to make the dog scared. He really does want her to like him, especially since she’s going to be sticking around. He stands, wincing as it jolts his shoulder, and no matter how disappointed Buck is in him, he instinctively reaches out to soothe the ache and steady Eddie, and he’s so fucking grateful Buck is his in this moment (in all moments). He mouths a kiss to the inside of Buck’s wrist, leaning his head against his shoulder. “Go to the pet store; Scarlet and I will be fine, _mi amor_. We’ll probably take a nap, if I had to guess.”

“I’ll pick up something for lunch on our way back,” Buck finally answers, placing the softest of kisses against Eddie’s forehead. “Thank you.”

“For what? Being a grumpy old man today?” It’s a weak joke, but Buck’s smile is blinding. 

“You didn’t have to say yes, to her. I know you’re worried about Chris, and us having a dog, and….thank you for trusting me, and letting us keep her.”

“Of course I was always going to say yes. You had your puppy dog eyes going on.” Buck laughs at that. “Also, you seem to have found the gentlest of gentle strays, so I worry less about Chris. So you two go, get what we need for our new family member, and some food, please, and I’m gonna get an ice pack.”

“We’ll hurry back,” Buck promises, and Eddie waves him off. It’s LA on a Saturday afternoon with rainy weather; he’s not expecting miracles. Soon enough, it’s just him and the skittish dog in the house, and Eddie does his best to just ignore her, to not make her nervousness worse. He finally finds a comfortable spot on the couch, so the ice pack is pressed _just so_ against the worst of the soreness in his shoulder, and he closes his eyes, only to be jolted awake by the cold nose of a shaking dog what seems like minutes later, but it’s actually been closer to an hour when Eddie glances at his phone. 

He can hear the rain outside, and he knows that’s what’s scaring Scarlet enough to make her seek him out, so he carefully, cautiously scratches her chin. “ _Estas bien ahora._ You’re okay,” he whispers, even as a clap of thunder makes her whimper. “I know it’s scary out there, but you’re here with me, hmm? I’m going to keep you safe. Soon Buck and Chris will be back with some food, and a bed, and everything’s going to be all right now.” She’s pushed her head basically into his palm, still watching him, but she lets him move his hand to scratch behind her ears without a fight. The edge of sleep is still clinging to him, and he scoots back on the couch, turning so that there’s space, and it takes a little effort, but she climbs onto the couch, laying in the curve of open area he left for her. Now that her fur’s dried, it’s soft and silky, and Eddie trails his fingers through it, back and forth and back and forth, an easy rhythm that lulls him back to sleep.

Later, a photo pops up on the 118 group text from Buck. It’s captioned ‘teddy bear wrapped in grumpy man exterior, featuring newest Buckley-Diaz’ and is a picture of Eddie on the couch, still asleep, Scarlet tucked into his side, her head resting on his bicep, his other arm curled protectively around her.

Eddie quickly becomes Scarlet’s favorite Buckley-Diaz.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a couple of things: if you find an animal on the street, you should really a) take it to see if it's got a microchip and b) take it to the shelter to let them do a stray hold on it just in case an owner's looking for it/alert your local shelter and follow their directions. I'm obviously hand-waving that. 
> 
> Also, that Buck and Abuela fic will be coming. At some point. As soon as I can finish it, because dang it if it doesn't want to be written. I'm going through a spurt of writer's block, so maybe the show returning Monday will be good inspiration.
> 
> _Estas bien ahora_ -It's okay now, at least according to Google Translate.
> 
> Thanks in advance to the kudos and comments!


End file.
